1. Davita's door harp, which hangs on the back of the door in each of the apartments the family occupies, is clearly the central symbol in the novel. What qualities, hopes, and promises are invested in this symbol?

2. What does Potok achieve thematically by contrasting and comparing the respective social consciousnesses of Channah and Michael Chandal as Communists, Ezra Dinn as an Orthodox Jew, and Sarah Chandal as a Christian humanitarian?

3. What are the peculiarly difficult growth and maturation tasks faced by young Jewish women of Davita's circumstances during the 1930s and 1940s? Consider the difficulties faced by any young woman at any point in time.

4. How does Davita reconcile her Jewish, Christian, and secular American heritage?

5. Do you think Potok believes the world political scene is beyond help or that individuals are capable of defeating social evils such as war and antiSemitism?